LEBANON Law and Practice Contributed by: Nayla Comair-Obeid, Ziad Obeid and Zeina Obeid, Obeid & Partners
3.2 Statutes of Limitations Generally, the statute of limitation in civil matters is ten years (Article 349 of the COC). However, statutes of limitations of shorter duration apply in some specific types of disputes (Article 350–352 of the COC). The statute of limitation runs from the maturity date of the obligation. Articles 354 to 359 of the COC outline the cir- cumstances in which the statute of limitations can be either suspended or interrupted. For completeness, suspension pauses the running of the statute of limitation without resetting the elapsed time. In contrast, interruption not only halts the statute of limitation but also resets the elapsed time, starting a new period from the point of interruption. 3.3 Jurisdictional Requirements for a Defendant According to Article 72 of the LCCP, jurisdiction is sorted into four primary types. • International jurisdiction (Articles 74-80 of the LCCP) – determines which country’s courts have the authority to adjudicate a legal matter. This jurisdiction is established by considering factors such as the nationalities of the parties involved or the location of the disputed interests. • Functional jurisdiction (Articles 81-82 of the LCCP) – assigns cases to judicial bodies determining the competent court to be either civil, administrative or religious. • Subject-matter jurisdiction, or ratione mate- riae jurisdiction (Articles 83-95 of the LCCP) – determines the competent court based on the nature of the dispute. This jurisdiction establishes not only the appropriate level of court – whether first instance, appellate, or
the Court of Cassation – but also, in certain cases specified by law, the specialised courts designated to handle specific types of dis- putes. These specialised courts may address matters such as summary proceedings, labour arbitration, and other specific disputes. • Territorial jurisdiction (Articles 96-113 of the LCCP) – focuses on the allocation of cases among courts of the same type and level, identifying which specific court is competent to hear a dispute based on the geographic location of the subject matter or the parties involved. Territorial jurisdiction can be either ordinary, which is relative and allows flexibility in determining the competent court, or excep- tional, in which case it is becomes mandatory. Typically, the competent court is determined by the defendant’s domicile, as specified in Article 97 of the LCCP. However, territorial jurisdiction may vary based on the nature of the dispute, as outlined in the subsequent provisions of the LCCP. • Real estate disputes – the competent court is located where the property is situated (Article 98). • Civil or commercial contracts – jurisdiction is granted to the court where: (a) the effective domicile of the defendant is located; (b) the defendant has chosen a domicile; (c) the contract was concluded, and one of its principal obligations was to be per- formed; or (d) the contract was entirely performed (Arti- cle 100). • Legal entities – for disputes involving legal entities, the competent court is where the legal entity’s head office is located. If a branch of the legal entity is involved, the court
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